The Wilton Method®: Stunning Small Cakes

Make a big entrance with just one tier. Decorate using striking sugar flowers, geometric patterns, metallic stripes and more as you create small cakes that have big style!

Join Wilton cake decorator Valerie Pradhan and learn techniques that combine dimension, color and texture into four small, standout designs. Decorate the Flower Overlay Cake where vibrant sugar flowers enhanced with brush embroidery pop against a dark background. Make the Fantasy Flower Cake with a cascade of carnations, quilled and ruffled flowers and ribbon roses. Tackle the Mosaic Cake to create a pattern of geometric tiles layered with shades of blue, green and purple and top it all off with an on-trend succulent. Finally, paint the bold Metallic Striped Cake and finish it with a peony-inspired flower. Gain all the skills you need to ensure your small cakes measure up!

Lesson plan

8:30

Lesson 1. Meet Valerie & Get Started

Meet your instructor, Wilton’s Valerie Pradhan, and preview the four amazing small cakes you’ll make in this class. Discover how these cakes are perfect for intimate gatherings or as stars of your dessert table. Valerie starts by demonstrating how to stack, crumb coat and cover an extended tier with fondant. These super-tall 6" (15 cm) cakes are the base for all of the projects you’ll make in this class.

14:58

Lesson 2. Flower Overlay Cake

Learn to make four flowers using cutters. Master the art of hand painting and brush embroidery to give your flowers the perfect finish. Add some leaves and wrap up this lesson as Valerie shares her design tips for placing your flowers on this modern botanic cake.

22:56

Lesson 3. Fantasy Flower Cake

Add to your sugar-flower garden as you master four more flowers, this time all formed by hand. Create a lush and full carnation, a sweet and modern quilled flower, a classic ribbon rose and a stunning ruffled flower. Discover how to use gold paint to give your flowers a modern feel. Pick up more design tips as Valerie places all of these flowers on the cake.

29:34

Lesson 4. Mosaic Cake & Succulents

Valerie shares her technique for creating mosaic plaques covered in colorful tiles and then places them on the sides of this square cake. Learn to make and color one of the most on-trend floral decorations, a succulent, for the top of your cake.

20:55

Lesson 5. Metallic Striped Cake

Finish your class in style as you make this glitzy, shimmery masterpiece! Learn your final flower, a peony-inspired show-stopper, as Valerie takes you step by step through the creation of this gorgeous design. Then continue your education in hand painting as you color metallic strips and attach them to your cake in even intervals to finish this small stunner.

"This was a great class. There was nothing small about those cakes — each one had its own individuality and was larger than life. Would recommend as a must-take! Great job, Valerie." - krez10yahoocouk

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Lesson 1. Meet Valerie & Get Started

Meet your instructor, Wilton’s Valerie Pradhan, and preview the four amazing small cakes you’ll make in this class. Discover how these cakes are perfect for intimate gatherings or as stars of your dessert table. Valerie starts by demonstrating how to stack, crumb coat and cover an extended tier with fondant. These super-tall 6" (15 cm) cakes are the base for all of the projects you’ll make in this class.

14:58

Lesson 2. Flower Overlay Cake

Learn to make four flowers using cutters. Master the art of hand painting and brush embroidery to give your flowers the perfect finish. Add some leaves and wrap up this lesson as Valerie shares her design tips for placing your flowers on this modern botanic cake.

22:56

Lesson 3. Fantasy Flower Cake

Add to your sugar-flower garden as you master four more flowers, this time all formed by hand. Create a lush and full carnation, a sweet and modern quilled flower, a classic ribbon rose and a stunning ruffled flower. Discover how to use gold paint to give your flowers a modern feel. Pick up more design tips as Valerie places all of these flowers on the cake.

29:34

Lesson 4. Mosaic Cake & Succulents

Valerie shares her technique for creating mosaic plaques covered in colorful tiles and then places them on the sides of this square cake. Learn to make and color one of the most on-trend floral decorations, a succulent, for the top of your cake.

20:55

Lesson 5. Metallic Striped Cake

Finish your class in style as you make this glitzy, shimmery masterpiece! Learn your final flower, a peony-inspired show-stopper, as Valerie takes you step by step through the creation of this gorgeous design. Then continue your education in hand painting as you color metallic strips and attach them to your cake in even intervals to finish this small stunner.

The instructor

Valerie Pradhan, Instructor of The Wilton Method®: Stunning Small Cakes

Valerie Pradhan is a cake designer, food stylist and decorator at Wilton. After graduating from Temple University and The Culinary Institute of America, Valerie worked in hotels, specialty shops and bakeries all over the United States, from California to Florida. Valerie loves making beautiful, delicious creations and learning something new every day. A talented teacher, Valerie looks forward to sharing her decorating know-how with cake designers from around the world on Craftsy.

Ratings & reviews

Class rating

(29 reviews)

Perfect Flowers

by anna_chri1456532405 on January 10, 2015

I love the way she does the flowers. It looks so easy. Love this class!!

I love the way she does the flowers. It looks so easy. Love this class!!

Notes From A Beginner

by sheriburn2933315 on July 22, 2014

I am finding this class quite helpful. I have made small cakes before, covered with buttercream flowers, but have not worked with fondant yet. Looking forward to my first attempt at that. The instructions are very clear, and I am finding that reading through the posted Q&A from the class is very helpful too

I am finding this class quite helpful. I have made small cakes before, covered with buttercream flowers, but have not worked with fondant yet. Looking forward to my first attempt at that. The instructions are very clear, and I am finding that reading through the posted Q&A from the class is very helpful too

Excellent

by Sandrita1364 on July 19, 2014

I love it beautiful

I love it beautiful

Stunning, indeed.

by MaBaker on July 8, 2014

Easy to follow directions from a very astute and organized teacher make these eye catching techniques easily available to the beginner decorator. Most enjoyable course which I would highly recommend.

Easy to follow directions from a very astute and organized teacher make these eye catching techniques easily available to the beginner decorator. Most enjoyable course which I would highly recommend.

enjoyed

by jodiebrons on July 7, 2014

I very much enjoyed the class. The instructions were clear and easy to follow. I loved learning new techniques shown, I am looking forward to the outcome of my cakes. I especially liked the flower overlay.

I very much enjoyed the class. The instructions were clear and easy to follow. I loved learning new techniques shown, I am looking forward to the outcome of my cakes. I especially liked the flower overlay.

You will want to know how to tort, stack and crumb coat a cake. Valerie offers expert tips on covering your cake with fondant as well as working with fondant and gum paste as you create all of the embellishments. Knowing how to color fondant will be helpful, too.